The kiosk doesn't print visitor badges

If the kiosk isn't printing visitor badges, the cause is usually something small: the roll has run out, a cable has come loose, or the printer has switched itself off. Work through the checks below in order — most cases are solved in the first two.

Start with the quick checks

1. Is the printer powered on? Look for the status light on the front of the printer. If nothing is lit, press the power button. If it still stays dark, check the wall socket.
2. Are there badges left on the roll? Open the printer and look. If the roll is empty or nearly empty, replace it — see Insert or replace the visitor badge printer roll.
3. Is the USB cable firmly connected? Check both ends: the printer and the kiosk. Unplug it and plug it back in. USB connectors can look attached while sitting slightly loose.

Check the printer status in Systam Studio

1. Log in to Systam Studio at app.systam.io.
2. Go to Devices → Printers.
3. Find your printer in the list and look at two columns: status and remaining badges.

If the status shows Inactive, the kiosk can't see the printer at all. That points to the cable or the power, so go back to the quick checks above. If the status shows Active but nothing comes out, continue below.

Check the badge counter on the kiosk

The kiosk keeps its own count of how many badges are left on the roll. If the counter has reached zero, printing stops even when there is a fresh roll in the printer.

1. Double-tap the logo at the top center of the kiosk screen. This opens the maintenance view.
2. Look at the badge counter for the connected printer.
3. If you have just replaced the roll, press Reset counter.

Look for the small green light on the printer

Brother label printers have an extra mode called Editor Lite. When it's on, the printer behaves like a USB memory stick and won't print badges.

Look for a small green light next to the larger status light. If the small light is on, hold down the button underneath it until the light goes out. The printer returns to normal mode.

Make the printer print by itself

This test tells you whether the problem is in the printer or somewhere else. Hold down the button with the scissors symbol for a few seconds. The printer prints its own settings page.

• The settings page prints. The printer, the roll and the power are fine — the problem is in the connection or the kiosk. Restart the kiosk next.
• Nothing prints. The problem is in the printer, the roll or the power. Check that the roll is loaded the right way round and that the cover clicks shut.

Restart the kiosk

A restart clears most connection problems between the kiosk and the printer. See Restarting a self-service kiosk. Wait until the sign-in screen is back, then try printing a badge.

If the printer keeps switching itself off

A printer that goes dark on its own every few days is usually a power problem, not a printer fault.

• Check what the printer is plugged into. Some power strips switch off their secondary sockets when the main device goes idle. Plug the printer directly into a wall socket.
• Contact us. The printer has an automatic power-off setting that we can check for you remotely.

Still not printing?

Contact our support team at support@systam.io. Please include:

• the device name as it appears in Devices in Systam Studio
• what the printer status shows in Studio (Active or Inactive)
• what happened in the settings page test — did anything print
• when the printing last worked

That last detail helps more than you'd think — if the printing stopped the same day the roll was changed or the network was touched, we know where to look first.

Related articles

• Insert or replace the visitor badge printer roll
• Add and manage badge printers
• Restarting a self-service kiosk

Badges rolling again — your visitors can sign in as usual.